It was a female therapist, and she was the most gifted therapist I’ve ever had the pleasure to be counseled by. I think that is what’s so confusing about this issue. Counselors in general aren’t exposed to multiple worldviews about addiction and “recovery” in our training. It’s all 12-step stuff. Even otherwise wonderful and progressive therapists aren’t aware of the emerging paradigms that present people with alternative ways of breaking free from addiction. Although there are over 420 recognized theories of how to do counseling (e.g. humanistic, gestalt, CBT, REBT, family systems, and on and on), we’re only trained in one way to approach addiction (12-step based models). It’s definitely a gap for mental health professionals. I’m happy that the 12-step programs exist and they contain a lot of support and wisdom and have helped tons of people. Saying it wasn’t my personal way to freedom isn’t a criticism, it’s an acknowledgement of the diversity of human experience and the reality that there may wide-ranging diverse worldviews that help people find personal freedom. Thanks for your comment and congrats on your own awesome lifestyle changes!